In many fields it is often desirable to know the absolute age and/or temperature history of a device or system starting from the time it is assembled or commissioned without the use of power during the aging period. Often, passive aging of a device or system may be required, which may exclude reliance upon digital or other powered clocks.
As a solution to this challenge, exemplary passive sensors based on physical materials system solutions are described here to meet this need. Some of these exemplary passive sensors may be used to understand the lifetime environment of the parent system (e.g. battery, cell phone, military system, etc.). For commercial applications, exemplary passive sensors according to the present invention may be used to verify or refute warranty claims.